Why are my PDF Layout Maps showing up with weird symbols?

[KaitlynAbrahamson]

Hi Everyone,

I am totally stumped.  When I export a layout in ArcGIS Pro as a PDF, it shows up normal as the original copy on my desktop.  However, when I copy it to a shared folder anywhere, it opens with bizarre symbols like it's corrupt.  I'll attach a screenshot, but I can't figure out what is happening.

[jcarlson · Accepted solution]

It sounds like a font issue. Your machine would have access to the same fonts that Pro does, so it wouldn't be a problem, but another machine / web interface that lacks those fonts would not display it correctly.

In your export settings, is "Embed Fonts" checked?

[KaitlynAbrahamson · Accepted solution]

Thank you!  It worked!

[David_Brooks · Accepted solution]

The ESRI fonts are needed for marker symbols to work in PDFs.

In the PDF export, select either of these options to test:

Converting to polygon is the fail safe, but you should be fine just embedding the fonts.